Staff at a local supermarket face relocation or redundancy after plans to downsize the store were revealed.

The Tesco Metro store on Kenton Lane is due to cease trading on August 20 – and will reopen as a smaller Tesco Express within a few weeks.

The renovated Tesco will have fewer manned tills than it does currently, with the majority being replaced by self-service checkouts.

A member of staff who did not wish to be identified said she and her colleagues had to reapply for their current jobs and were worried about the relocation they faced if they were unsuccessful.

One customer said: “We are very disappointed about it. A lot of residents are going to be unhappy.

“It’s always busy and now staff are going to be made redundant. We can’t understand it.”

Ranjan Nardani wrote on Facebook: “I love the staff at this store – all of them. I often do my whole weekly shop here but won’t if it is more expensive.”

Another shopper said three female employees at the store had 75 years of experience between them, and said customers were talking of boycotting the shop in a display of unity with the staff.

Once the Kenton Lane branched is closed, the nearest Tesco store will be the Station Road superstore on Station Road – a 30 minute walk away. Some customers argued that the temporary closure would make it difficult for older people to get their weekly shop.

“The convenient store will be closed during the month of August causing inconvenience to the older generation in the area,” said customer Jay Anathan.

“It is a local store where thousands shop for their day to day items. Staffed by over 50 employees, the store will now be converted to an Express, providing less items to their customers and less jobs.”

Customers have also raised concerns that the variety of products on offer would decline while the price of them went up.

Deena Raghwani wrote: “Very disappointed to read this. What’s the point in downsizing it, may as well shut it altogether then.

“No doubt they’ll take advantage and put up prices as they seem to do with most Expresses.”

Tesco itself has made no public announcement about the downsizing, and no notices are visible on the exterior of the shop itself, but a spokesman did confirm the plans to downsize to the Harrow Times.

“Making changes to the store was a difficult decision for us. Our priority now is to do everything we can to find roles within Tesco for those colleagues who are affected,” he said. 

“We are looking forward to opening the refreshed store and continuing to serve our customers in Harrow.”

Tesco said the store was not profitable as a Metro, despite the claims of its customers. It added that downsizing would make it more sustainable in the future.

The store currently employs 64 staff and two managers, although this is expected to drop considerably with the downsizing. Tesco said it was working to place employees at stores nearby.